A fugitive man in India brings back bloody memories

For the past week, the Indian government has been searching feverishly for Amritpal Singh, a Sikh separatist leader from the northwestern state of Punjab. His arrest seems urgent: to make his escape more difficult, the government switched off the internet for the state’s 27 million inhabitants on the day of the arrest warrant.

Amritpal Singh, 30, leads the group “Waris Punjab De”, which means “the heirs of Punjab”. This made national headlines in February when they stormed a police station in the city of Ajnala demanding the release of an ally. His appearance is unsettling and reminds many of a bloody time 40 years ago.

Who is Amritpal Singh, why is he on the run and what does all this have to do with the events of 1984?

From truck driver to leader

Amritpal Singh is a 30-year-old self-professed minister who belongs to the Sikh religious community. Until recently, he was an unknown truck driver who worked for a transport company in Dubai.

On his Linkedin profile he also states that he has a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering. But what stands out most on his profile is his display image, which contrasts sharply with his later appearance:

When farmers in India began protesting controversial farm laws in 2020, Singh returned home to support them.

He joined the group “Waris Punjab De” which was founded by actor and activist Deep Sidhu, among other things to mobilize farmers in the state of Punjab. From Punjab, peasant protests spread across the country, protesting relentlessly in the streets for more than a year. After the Indian government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi finally withdrew the laws in November 2021, Singh returned to Dubai.

The founder of the group “Waris Punjab De”, Deep Sidhu, could not enjoy the success of the protests for long: in February 2022 he was killed in a car accident. In August, Singh returned to India, where he took over as head of the organization in September.

The desire for autonomy

It is not surprising that the peasant protests started in the state of Punjab. The state lives largely from agriculture and the relationship between Punjab and the Indian government has always been tense.

Punjab is the only state in India where the Sikh religious community represents a majority of the population at 57 percent. They are vastly outnumbered in the rest of the country, where they make up less than 2 percent of the total population. And they feel it: since India’s independence in 1947, they have been complaining about discrimination by the Hindu government.

With “Waris Punjab De”, founder Deep Sidhu wanted to advocate for more autonomy in Punjab. As the new leader, Amritpal Singh took this project one step further by demanding the independence of Punjab: the state of Khalistan. He believed he saw a growing Hindu nationalism in the Modi government, which he began to denounce in fiery speeches. He also placed another major emphasis on fighting the rampant drug problems in Punjab state.

His words caught the ears of Sikhs, and as his following grew, so did local and central government concerns. Interior Minister Amit Shah stressed that Khalistan’s activities are being closely monitored and the movement should not be allowed to spread. Not without reason: 40 years earlier, India plunged into ruthless chaos under similar circumstances.

Bloody memories of 1984

An independent Punjab or Khalistan had been a strong desire of the Sikhs since India’s independence in 1947, but the movement only gained momentum from the 1970s. Sikh leader Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale managed to gain a large following in India with his demands for an autonomous Punjab. His reputation grew, so in the summer of 1982 he took up residence in the inn of the sacred Golden Temple – the highest shrine of the Sikhs – and formed a kind of parallel government. He began collecting weapons and taking action against both the government and dissenting Sikhs.

After all attempts by then Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi to negotiate with the separatists failed, she decided to storm the Golden Temple on 5 June 1984 as part of “Operation Blue Star”. Bhindranwale died during the operation. Both the death of Bhindranwale and the desecration of the holy temple by the police shocked the Sikh community. In revenge, Indira Ghandi was shot dead on October 31, 1984 by two of her Sikh bodyguards.

This made things much worse for the Sikhs, as Aidan Milliff, a Stanford postdoc who has researched the Punjab crisis, tells the axios news platform:

According to official estimates, between October 31 and November 4, 1984, approximately 3,000 Sikhs were killed in so-called anti-Sikh pogroms. This only fueled the Khalistan movement, leading to a decade of violence and conflict. It was not until the mid-1990s that the movement ebbed under heavy political repression.

The storm at the police station

Back to the present. Amritpal Singh likes to compare himself to Bhindranwale, who is highly revered as a martyr among the Sikhs. Like Bhindranwale, he does not shy away from declaring war on the government:

The reason for this statement was an indictment against Amritpal Singh and five of his followers. A former supporter of Singh accused the group of kidnapping and beating him. Police subsequently raided, arresting one of Singh’s aides.

Hundreds of Sikhs therefore stormed the Ajnala police station where the aide was being held on February 23 and demanded his release. The police acknowledged the arrested man’s innocence and agreed to release him the following day, after which supporters backed out. However, Amritpal Singh would have issued a warning for this, which alerted the government. In a speech to the Indian interior minister, according to the Indian media, he is said to have hinted that the same fate as Gandhi could befall him if he continued to speak out against Khalistan.

The large-scale manhunt

On March 18, the Indian government again issued an arrest warrant against Amritpal Singh on charges of attempted murder, obstructing law enforcement and creating “dishharmony” in the society.

At the same time, the Punjab government announced an initial 24-hour ban on mobile internet and SMS services. This is to prevent the spread of fake news, rumors and disinformation on social media. The entire population of Punjab – 27 million people – was affected by this measure.

India correspondent Lauren Frayer explains the Indian government’s response to the US radio station “npr”:

There is speculation in India whether Amritpal Singh has already been caught, Frayer reports. She considers it not impossible that the police would keep this information secret so as not to allow tensions to escalate further.

Divided opinion within the Sikhs

It is difficult to estimate the real extent of separatist sentiment in Punjab. Votes on both camps can be found on Twitter. While some Sikhs are protesting the government’s actions and want an independent Khalistan, others are campaigning for Indian unity. As a sign of their support for unity, many Sikhs are currently hanging Indian flags:

In Canada, the US and the UK, on ​​the other hand, where there is a large Sikh diaspora, there are protests against the manhunt for Amritpal Singh. Indian consulates in London and San Francisco were vandalized on Monday.

In response, Sikhs protested outside the British High Commission building in New Delhi. In doing so, they wanted to clearly distinguish themselves from the Amritpal supporters in Britain, whom they describe as Khalistan extremists.

In India, Khalistan movements are banned and viewed as threats to national security or even terrorist organizations. The law is rooted in the events of 1984 and makes it difficult for today’s Sikhs to express their desire for greater autonomy. Amritpal Singh does not shy away from this law which makes him a controversial figure. To some he is a hero, to others a threat that could lead to a repeat of the events of 1984.

The manhunt for Singh is currently keeping Punjab in suspense. No one knows if he was caught or still on the loose. While a possible arrest of the Sikh leader of the Khalistan movement could take the wind out of the sails, it also seems likely to further escalate tensions.